Chladni pioneered multimedia science presentation two centuries before PowerPoint

Evidence

Today, we have thousands of scientists jetting around the world packing PowerPoint presentations with animations and sound driven by laptop computers. The projection technology is stunning, and scientists at conferences can settle back in their chairs to watch and hear the latest advances in their fields. Many of the same scientists teach nonspecialist students, give public lectures, and appear on PBS specials in conjunction with stunning graphics and sound. Multimedia is commonplace, but never boring if done well. It was not so in 1800. Chladni was the world’s first multimedia scientist-presenter: he wowed his audiences with visuals and sound, in an era with nothing like that in daily life. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1388

Categorization

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